Originally Posted by Transpacificflyer

Avg. Delay - The average delay, in minutes for all delayed flights.




True. However, a quick visit to the Weather Network's history section indicates that during that period, Quebec and the prairies were subject to the polar vortex with the the prairies taking the brunt of it. The prairie folk went to work without whinging and sobbing and fretting. This is Canada. It is to be expected and companies who are exposed to weather risks should be prepared for cold weather. Russia certainly did not close for the winter.

The other major weather related issue in Toronto during the January collapse of the airline operations was the freezing rain. Staff just were not coming to work, despite the roads having been cleared and salted.

I believe the true cause of the Air Canada crisis was is revealed in its June 2015 Investors Day presentation.

- Reduction in available personnel at YYZ as part of the $100 million cost reductions.
- The absence of a tested and reliable Irregular Operations Program.
Why else mention under Airport Initiatives (p. 71 - Airport & Customer Service Improvements) the introduction of an IRO Program? It took the operational collapse of 2014 to force the airline to respond. The program hasn't been fully tested yet as 2015 has been an easy weather year.